Daniel Cicero
Daniel Cicero (full name Daniel Bervais Cicero, often simply referred to as DBC) was the 100th Emperor of Kreedia who ascended to the throne in 1187 after the political crisis following the death of emperor Ares Stormbringer. Daniel I was the first of the Cicero line, a family who's political rule of Kreedia would be marked by intrigue and scheming. Despite this however, Daniel was an adamant and firm imperial ruler, reforming the Imperial legions and leading Kreedia through many glorious victories. He was the personal hero of emperor Julius Krieg, and is often regarded as one of history's most inspiring leaders. History Born in 1149 in Asimium, Daniel's early childhood was mostly spent in the fortress of Cicero - a privately owned castle a few miles from Asimium, mostly due to the unrest caused by the second incursion. Theonidas Stormbringer had been killed, and so his son Ares had seized power. While brutal and at times sadistic, Ares was in no way insane, and his severity proved to be beneficial in halting the unrest spread across the nation. Daniel's grandfather Edward had chosen to marry his father James to the imperial princess Lisa Stormbringer in the hopes of bringing the wealthy Cicero family into the imperial government. The Ciceros were originally a merchant family from Sartosa, but had risen to prominence in Kreedia half a century prior because of their wealth, buying vast swathes of land because of Kreedia's prominent private ownership laws. They had lobbied for noble status but had only been able to have the odd family patriarch as a unicus, and so it was necessary for the family to prove their loyalty in other ways. Lisa was married to James, and as a result Daniel was born and raised with his younger brother Daedric. There is debate to this day if Daedric was adopted or a genuine child, his features are distinctly different from Daniel but this claim may simply be an attempt to distance Daedric from the line of Kreedian emperors. Being raised in a fortress, Daniel at a young age was exposed to the life of a soldier, seeing the privately hired Cicero guards as well as the odd imperial regiment gifted to the family. His father James spent most of his time in Asimium dealing with the politics of Ares in the house of nobles, but would at times come to visit Daniel. The young Cicero boy hoped for a life in the legions, and had a great many ideas on how the legions could be reformed and modernised. When he was still young, Daniel went the imperial college of Ostracon and found himself offered a station in the 1st legion, a legion who's positions were reserved for the greatest soldiers but were usually tasked with defending Asimium. Seeing this as no opportunity for reform, Daniel refused this opportunity and was instead given a position in the 5th Legion of Duskhollow. Daniel found the military of the 5th legion to be struggling to maintain the stability in the northern lands of the empire, with many soldiers being still terrified of the monsters in the forest of Duskhollow. He was given a captaincy of a regiment, and 'Cicero's regiment' quickly became fearless of the terrors of the wood having been inspired by Daniel's speeches and soldier-like charisma. Leading his men by example, Daniel fought numerous campaigns and was being considered as a successor to the position of general of the 5th, despite not being native to Duskhollow. When Emperor Ares unexpectedly died with no direct heirs, the throne surprisingly fell to Daniel. Daniel was not particularly famous across the whole empire, and the dynasties of Kreedia had never seen such a foreign name sit upon the throne of the empire. As a result, his succession was met with great backlash at first - the Stormbringers had ruled for generations, and now a Sartosan immigrant sat on the throne. Many called this political swindling by the Ciceros, and even accused them of killing Ares. Oddly enough however, as soon as Cicero began speaking to the senate and house of nobles, they quickly learned to respect him. He showed great diplomatic ability when offering nobles more of a say to help his inexperience, and championed the senate on their ability to listen to the common man. Cicero quickly had a chance to prove his example, as rebellions occurred in distant parts of the empire. Rallying the legions, Daniel was able to put down the rebellions in a series of superb military victories, mostly because of his newly developed legionary tactics. His reforms to the imperial military codex as well as his ability to reduce ethnic tensions in some of the more diverse parts of the empire proved to be highly beneficial for the empire. Many still saw Daniel as a foreigner, and so because of this he was able to appeal to those who felt ostracised by the empire. He was the exemplar of the converted imperial - he wore a Sartosan name and yet walked and talked like a Kreedian. When it came to foreign affairs, Daniel was equally as skilled. His down-to-earth charisma helped convince many of the other Europan states to maintain peace as Europa recovered. He was even able to become good friends with the king of Del Arago, something that had been unheard of and has not happened since the rule of emperor Cicero. Daniel's enlightened, martial and caring rule was not to last however. Daniel's adopted brother Daedric had other ambitions, and plotted in secret to overthrow the emperor and seize the throne for himself. Category:Character